1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for producing transgenic plants, particularly transgenic plants from which ancillary sequences, such as vector DNA or reporter or selection genes have been deleted. More specifically, the invention relates to a method for deleting ancillary sequences derived from gene transfer vectors from monocotyledonous transgenic plants.
2. Description of the Related Art
Genetically modified (GM) crops offer many advantages to the farmer in terms of inputs to crop production, e.g. weed and insect control, and improved usage of water and nutrient inputs. Genetically modified plants also provide a means for improving nutritional value, e.g. improved amino acid or protein composition, improved starch and oil quantities and qualities, increased vitamin levels, or bioavailability of nutrients, or can be the source of pharmaceuticals or xe2x80x9cnutraceuticalsxe2x80x9d. Methods have been developed for conferring tolerance or resistance to water or salt stress in monocots (U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,709), for example, and a single gene has been used to improve tolerance to drought, salt loading, and freezing in some plants. (Kasuga et al., 1999). Insect resistance can be conferred to transferring genes for the production of toxins found in the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Lysine content has been increased by incorporating the genes for bacterial enzymes (e.g. Corynebacterium dihydropicolinic acid synthase and E. coli aspartokinase) into GM plants. The comparable plant enzymes are subject to lysine feedback inhibition, while the bacterial enzymes show little or no feedback inhibition.
Until technology made genetic modification of plants possible, production of plants with desirable characteristics was dependent upon selective breeding and the variability naturally present in a crop and closely related sexually compatible species. Genetic modification through transformation provides an efficient and controlled method for producing plants with one or more desired characteristics, including characteristics that are normally not found in those crops, such as resistance to herbicides or pests, or nutritionally balanced food or feed products.
Genetic modification of crops by transformation sometimes involves transfer of one or more desired genes, along with ancillary sequences such as antibiotic resistance markers or reporter genes, into a plant cell. Antibiotic resistance markers used in plant genetic engineering, for example, include the kanamycin resistance marker (Carrer et al., 1993), streptomycin resistance marker (Moll et al., 1990), lincomycin resistance marker (Jenkins et al., 1991) and the neomycin resistance marker (Beck et al., 1982). The ancillary sequences are necessary for identification or selection of transformed cells, but do not contribute to the trait conferred on the plant. Since ancillary sequences do not contribute to the desired crop improvement, efforts have been made to delete them from the GM progeny. Antibiotic resistance markers have particularly been targeted for deletion.
Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that using direct DNA delivery methods, such as microprojectile bombardment, complex transgene insertions may occur including duplications, deletions, and complex rearrangements of introduced DNA (PCT Publication No. WO 99/32642). Complex transgene insertions may contribute to co-suppression of gene expression or genetic instability of the insertion.
A number of site-specific recombination-mediated methods have been developed for incorporating target genes into plant genomes, as well as for deleting unwanted genetic elements from plant and animal cells. For example, the cre-lox recombination system of bacteriophage P1, described by Abremski et al. (1983), Sternberg el al. (1981) and others, has been used to promote recombination in a variety of cell types. The cre-lox system utilizes the cre recombinase isolated from bacteriophage P1 in conjunction with the DNA sequences (termed lox sites) it recognizes. This recombination system has been effective for achieving recombination in plant cells (U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,772), animal cells (U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,317 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,030), and in viral vectors (Hardy et al., 1997).
Wahl et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,182) used the site-specific FLP recombinase system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to delete DNA sequences in eukaryotic cells. The deletions were designed to accomplish either inactivation of a gene or activation of a gene by bringing desired DNA fragments into association with one another.
Others have used transposons, or mobile genetic elements that transpose when a transposase gene is present in the same genome, to separate target genes from ancillary sequences. Yoder el al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,852 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,924) used constructs containing the sequence of the transposase enzyme and the transposase recognition sequences to provide a method for genetically altering plants that contain a desired gene free of vector and/or marker sequences.
Oliver et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,765) used site-specific recombination systems in conjunction with a blocking sequence to provide a regulatory mechanism in transgenic plants. In this method, when site-specific recombination results in excision of the blocking sequence, regulatory elements that either induce or repress a particular gene of interest are moved into an appropriate position upstream from the target sequence.
Although each of these methods has been designed specifically to excise unwanted sequences, each also relies upon introduction of ancillary genetic sequences (e.g., recombinase or transposase specific recognition sequences) that ultimately do not contribute to the desired crop improvement.
Thus, there is a need for a method for excising unwanted DNA sequences from transgenic plants without introducing any further ancillary DNA sequences.
The invention provides a novel method for excision, modification, or amplification of DNA sequences from transgenic plants that does not involve the use of site-specific recombination enzymes, including transposable elements, but instead relies upon homologous sequences positioned about the target sequence to direct excision or amplification through native cellular recombination mechanisms.
The invention provides a novel method of removing undesirable DNA sequences as well as a method for resolving complex transgene insertions to simpler insertions, thereby increasing transgene stability and decreasing the occurrence of co-suppression.
The invention provides a method of preparing a recombined fertile transgenic plant, by obtaining a first fertile transgenic plant having a first DNA sequence, a second DNA sequence operably linked to at least one regulatory sequence functional in a plant cell, and a third DNA sequence homologous to at least a portion of the first DNA sequence and positioned so that the directly repeated DNA sequences flank the second DNA sequence. Additionally, the transgene insertion may comprise further DNA sequences. In the method of the present invention, the direct repeat may be recognized by a site-specific recombinase enzyme, but a site specific recombinase is not required for deletion of the desired sequence. The first fertile transgenic plants are crossed to produce either hybrid or inbred progeny plants, and from those progeny plants one or more second fertile transgenic plants are selected which contain a second DNA sequence that has been altered by recombination. The first fertile transgenic plant can be either homozygous or hemizygous for the second DNA sequence.
The invention provides a method of preparing a fertile transgenic plant having an altered transgene insertion comprising obtaining a first fertile transgenic plant homozygous for a transgene insertion DNA sequence, wherein the transgene insertion DNA sequence comprises a pre-selected DNA sequence flanked by directly repeated DNA sequences, obtaining a plurality of progeny of any generation of the first transgenic plant, and selecting a progeny fertile transgenic plant wherein the transgene insertion is altered as compared to the first fertile transgenic plant. Methods are provided wherein the pre-selected DNA sequence comprises a selectable marker gene or a reporter gene, such as a bar, nptII or cryIA(b) gene. Furthermore, methods are provided wherein the plurality of progeny plants are obtained by either self-pollination or outcrossing. The resultant progeny plants may be either inbreds or hybrids. The plants may be a cereal plant, such as a maize, barley, wheat rye or rice plant.
Also provided by the present invention is a transgenic plant produced by the method, wherein the transgene insertion is altered as compared to the first fertile transgenic plant.
The invention also provides a seed for producing the recombinant transgenic plant, wherein the transgene insertion is altered as compared to the first fertile transgenic plant.
Also provided is a fertile transgenic plant wherein a transgene insertion is altered from a parent transgene insertion. The plant may be hybrid or inbred. The transgene insertion may be altered in that it has been deleted, amplified, or rearranged.
Further provided is a progeny plant of any generation comprising an altered transgene insertion, wherein the transgene insertion is altered from the transgene insertion in a parental R0 plant.
The present invention also provides an altered transgene insertion DNA sequence preparable by the method comprising obtaining a first fertile transgenic plant homozygous for a transgene insertion DNA sequence, wherein the transgene DNA sequence comprises a pre-selected DNA sequence flanked by directly repeated DNA sequences; obtaining a plurality of progeny of any generation of the first transgenic plant; and selecting a progeny fertile transgenic plant wherein the transgene insertion is altered as compared to the first fertile transgenic plant. The transgene insertion may be altered in that it has been deleted, amplified, or rearranged. Alteration of the transgene insertion may result in a change in expression of a transgene contained within the parental transgene insertion. The alteration of the transgene may be identified by DNA analysis, such as by PCR or Southern blot analysis. The altered transgene insertion may be in a cereal plant, such as a maize, barley, wheat, rye or rice plant.